Brookes closes to within 11 points of Hill after Silverstone surprise

Michael Rutter and James Ellison took the victories in a rain-lashed penultimate round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Silverstone that left the title fight on a knife edge going into the Showdown finale at Oulton Park next month.

Tommy Hill emerged from a difficult weekend at the Northamptonshire Grand Prix circuit retaining the advantage in the title stakes, though Josh Brookes, riding consistently in the difficult conditions to take second and third places, cut his lead by five points to 589-578. Ryuichi Kiyonari, eager to add a third British title to his pedigree, moved within four points of Brookes as the Title Fighters showed their determined qualities.

Brookes, riding the HM Plant Honda, made the early running in the opener, ahead of Michael Laverty on the Relentless Suzuki with Kiyonari third from Rutter but light rain fell with the leaders on their fifth lap, bringing out the red flags.

The re-start, over 10 laps, saw Laverty make a superb start to be running ahead of Brookes, Rutter, Kiyonari and Worx Crescent Suzuki rider Hill. Brookes nosed ahead on the fourth lap, but Laverty quickly hit back in fierce duel but it was Rutter, revelling in the wet, who took both of them on the eighth lap and then pulled out a lead of over a second as he took his second victory of the campaign.

“That couldn’t be better for me, making up for the tumble at Croft, though it was very difficult out there as the conditions were changing by the lap – it was horrible really, but I will take it,” said Rutter though his hopes of completing the daily double were soon dashed in the second race.

Ellison had made a storming start, running well clear of the tangle at Copse on the opening lap in which Laverty, Chris Burns and Loris Baz tumbled. The Swan Honda rider was strong and confident despite the ravages of the weather as he ran clear of Kiyonari with Rutter riding hard, only to slide out of third place at Aintree on the fourth lap.

Hill, who had fought back from a scary moment at the start when his bike swerved out of line, was carving through the pack from ninth on the opening lap. Ahead of him, Brookes took third from Gary Mason, while Hill moved ahead of first Dan Linfoot and then Alastair Seeley to be running in fifth place.

Ellison had pulled out a lead of over five seconds as he took his first victory in five months, since his opening round success at Brands Hatch, showing what might have been but for the broken leg sustained in a crash during practice for the second round. “That was unbelievable, there were so many emotions flashing through my mind as I crossed the line and I got a bit excited,” explained Ellison.

Kiyonari took second place from Brookes, Seeley, Hill and Linfoot.

Chris Burns took his Splitlath Aprilia to Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class victory in the opening race, finishing ahead of his team-mate Hudson Kennaugh but next time out it was Gary Johnson riding the AIM Suzuki who took the victory ahead of Pauli Pekkanen on the 777RR Motorsport Suzuki. Steve Brogan retains the lead in the title standings, though after a day of a sixth place, and then a tumble from his Jentin BMW that has been cut to just eight points by Kennaugh.

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The final round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship will take place at Oulton Park (8/9/10 October) and will be the Showdown decider.

—  Worx Crescent Suzuki Report

Tommy Hill overcame difficult weather conditions and technical set backs at the penultimate round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone, to retain his lead in the standings.

The Worx Crescent Suzuki rider rode to eighth and fifth in the two wet races and takes an 11-point lead into the final round of Championship at Oulton Park in two weeks time.

The first race started dry but when rain came it had to be restarted with all riders on wet tyres. Hill in the meantime was struggling with an electrical glitch that shut down his dashboard on his GSX-R1000. Although sorted for the re-run it did, however, prevent the installation of the wet settings in time for the start and he found himself racing in ‘damage limitation’ mode, finishing eighth.

With the electrical gremlin sorted and riding with his preferred wet setting, Hill had a better second outing, but excess wheelspin off the start line meant he had hard work to do in re-passing several non-Title Fighters and time lost here affected his final position of fifth.

Yukio Kagayama struggled with an imperfect set-up for the first wet race, placing 13th. For the second outing he used a revised setting that was far superior and so for the first part of the race was able to battle with the front-runners. However, he then ran into that perennial wet-weather issue of a fogging visor and with limited vision slipped down the order to finish 14th.

Tommy Hill: “I’m not over the moon with today’s performances but I am happy with the outcome. We had a few setbacks today but the job was to keep a level head throughout, bearing in mind my Championship lead, and not take excessive risks. Consequently it was my rivals who were taking the risks and so suffered the worst misfortune.

“So I’m looking forward to Oulton Park, it’s probably my favourite track of the Championship. While not everything went to plan this weekend we did again find podium-pace both in the wet and dry so I’m confident that we have everything we need to fight for the title come the final Showdown.”

Yukio Kagayama: “Not an easy day today. I’ve had very little wet weather riding this year so my setting for the first race was not perfect. My rear tyre consequently shredded and I had to ride carefully to finish. For the second race we revised the setting and it was much better. For a while I thought I might be able to help Tommy by taking points from his rivals, but my visor misted up and without perfect vision I had to slow.”

Jack Valentine: “I was impressed with Tommy today. He may not have taken a starring role in the races but he had some issues forced upon him and to his credit he never panicked, making sure he brought the bike home, taking as many points as it was safe to do.

“In that second race he showed good pace and if he hadn’t been slowed by the battle to pass Dan Linfoot in the early stages he may well have been closer to the front and finished higher than the fifth he ended up with. But again, in very difficult conditions he kept his head and in this race it really paid off.

“Yukio rode better today than his results imply: The conditions were difficult and from his position on the grid it was always going to be hard work. We saw some of the old fighting Yukio in that second race, but with his visor misting we’re left to wonder what might have been. Hopefully he’ll be able to put together strong performances at Oulton Park.

“So to come away with an 11-point lead in the Championship is fair achievement. Tommy came here without the circuit knowledge of his rivals and we saw through free practice that he gave it his all to break down their advantage. Then when the race day turned treacherous he played a calm game when so many issues could have unsettled him and caused a disaster. For me, this says we’ve got the right guy for the job come Oulton Park. He has the speed and he has the intelligence – and he’s heading into the three most important races of his life!”

—  HM Plant Honda Report

Silverstone Podium Success for HM Plant Honda

The HM Plant Honda team celebrated podium finishes at Silverstone today for the penultimate round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship and Josh Brookes and Ryuichi Kiyonari now lie second and third respectively in the standings ahead of the final round in two weeks’ time.

In the opening race Josh took the lead but the race was red flagged due to rain and on the restart he was battling for the win in the early stages before securing a strong second place in the difficult conditions whilst Kiyo ended the race fifth. In the second race Kiyo got a flying start to chase race leader James Ellison, mastering the wet conditions to take second. Josh meanwhile was forced to take evasive action when Title Fighter rival Michael Laverty crashed in front of him at Copse on the opening lap and then had to battle his way through the field, but a determined effort saw him secure a hard-fought third place and has put him within eleven point of championship leader Tommy Hill. In the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship, the race was postponed due to the conditions and Steve Plater will now have a second race at Oulton Park for the final round.

Josh said: “The first race started dry and everything was going to plan and I knew we had good pace but then it was red flagged for the rain. When the race was restarted Michael Laverty seemed to have a bit of an advantage and I followed him, but then as the track dried it was Michael Rutter who then seemed faster so I pushed as hard as I could and if I had done any more I would have crashed. I was happy enough to take the second place and the points for the championship, especially after Croft.

“That second race was just crazy; I got away and then Michael Laverty went down in front of me. He was on the ground and his bike was spinning around on the track and I did everything I could just to miss it. That really ruined my train of thought and I then got passed by a whole heap of riders and then had to really fight my way back. I had trouble getting past a few of them and then there seemed to be oil down on the track as I nearly crashed about ten times; it would have looked pretty dramatic as I had the bars all crossed up and was lucky to stay on to be honest. I found the speed in the last laps but it was too much to try and close James and Kiyo by then, but I had luck on my side today and it has put me back up there in the championship now.”

Kiyo said: “I am happy with the podium in the second race as I was disappointed to finish fifth in race one. We made some changes with the setting after race one and I felt more confident to push harder, but the conditions were very difficult and I really was trying to close the gap to James which was tough as he was fast. You couldn’t lose concentration for one second as you would crash and I knew I had a gap to Josh in third so settled into second as I wasn’t going to catch James in the final laps. I am third in the championship now so I need to have the break between rounds and come back for Oulton Park faster and ready to fight for the championship.”

Steve said: “It was disappointing that we didn’t the chance to race today, but it was the right decision as the conditions were deteriorating. We now get two races at Oulton Park to try and finish the season with a good result.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded: “We are happy with our performances this weekend and both Josh and Kiyo performed excellently and were a real credit to the HM Plant Honda team today. It was a pity that the weather changed in the first race as both riders had the pace to fight for first and second, but the team worked hard and the changes had a positive affect on the performance in race two. It was another double podium for the team and it just shows how a weekend can turn the championship around. We have both riders still really in the hunt for the championship title and now we are looking forward to Oulton Park in two weeks’ time.”

—  Rob Mac Racing Report

TBC

—  Relentless Suzuki by TAS Report

It was a day of mixed emotions for British Superbike title challenger Michael Laverty at Silverstone today, during the penultimate round of the 2010 championship. The Relentless by TAS Suzuki rider took third place in race one, which was re-started due to inclement weather conditions. Laverty had led in the opening laps, but having used the best of his rear Pirelli, he settled for a safe third place, closing the gap on series leader Tommy Hill to just eight points.

Starting race two from second place on the front row of the grid, Laverty took the holeshot in treacherous conditions and was confident of taking his third top step of the year. Unfortunately a questionable loss of traction at turn one caused the Relentless Suzuki man to crash. He did bravely re-mount, but the damage to his machine was too great to continue for much more than a few corners. Despite the incident Laverty still has a fighting chance of taking the title, just 19 points adrift of top spot with three races remaining.

Michael Laverty
I can’t say I’m anything other than disappointed. Race one was okay; I led for three quarters of the race but my tyre was finished and I had to settle for third place with the championship in the back of my mind. When the rain really came down for race two I was feeling confident about pulling off the win. I made the start, got into turn one first, but before I knew it the rear just let go and I was thrown over the top and onto the ground. It’s not over yet though, I’m only 19 points down on Tommy with 75 still up for grabs. I will rebound at Oulton and give it everything I have to shoot for the title.”

Alastair Seeley regained his composure after a high-speed crash on Friday, coming from his fourth row grid slot in race one to take a fine sixth place. In race two Seeley slowed to miss his fallen team-mate at turn one after a solid start from the second row, narrowly missing out on the podium in fourth place after ten pulsating laps.

Alastair Seeley
It turned out to be a decent enough day for me after my crash on Friday and a bad qualifying. The first race was damp and with a drying track my wet tyres chewed up on both sides and the bike was also spinning in a straight line. Michael highsided in front of me at turn one in race two. I had to sit up and get on the anchors, which allowed the others to get away. I had a good race with Tommy Hill, Gary Mason and Josh Brookes but I couldn’t find a way round Brookes for a podium spot. After a bit of a moment starting the last lap I decided to bring it home for the points. Thanks must go to my crew for getting the bike ready after the spill on Friday afternoon.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager
Racing can be the most emotionally rewarding sport when it all goes your way but can also be soul destroying when things happen like today. The difference between Michael leaving Silverstone leading the championship or leaving with a mountain to climb was down to the smallest of errors. The wet conditions are a bit of a lottery for everyone and these things can happen – I’m sure Michael feels a bit hard done by.

“In saying that we have worked so hard to put Relentess and Suzuki at the top of this championship and we are not giving up without a fight. We may need to win at Oulton to stand a chance of lifting this championship and that is exactly what we will try to do.

“Alastair is continuing to learn as the season goes on. After a difficult qualifying with a big crash, he rode in a calculated manner in both races scoring good points. It’s a shame about his no score at Croft or he would still be in with a chance. He now needs to concentrate on achieving some more podium finishes to end a great season on a high.

“Overall a very disappointing weekend in the championship hunt, but what we do best is work as a team and we will return even stronger for the final round at Oulton in two weeks’ time.”

—  SMT Honda

Chris Walker and the sorrymate.com/SMT Honda team enjoyed a profitable weekend at Silverstone in the penultimate round of the 2010 British Superbike Championship and they were rewarded with two strong top ten finishes. Despite the difficult wet conditions, Walker put in two stirling rides, particularly in the 2nd race where he was outside of the top 15 on the opening lap, to claim 8th and 9th places in the two races and the 15 points gained has seen Chris and the team maintain 10th place overall in the Championship table.

With mixed weather throughout the three days of action around the GP circuit, Friday’s opening free practice session was held in the wet and Chris took an excellent 5th place and he repeated this position in the afternoon’s session with a time of 2m09.513s. Saturday saw damp conditions in the morning and Chris took 11th going in to the afternoon’s qualifying session and was hopeful of finishing inside the top ten. Sure enough, it would be one of the best qualifying sessions for the team and Chris successfully made it through to the final segment, eventually posting a best time of 2m07.608s to claim 8th place on the grid.

A brilliant start in Sunday’s first 14-lap race saw Chris end the first lap in 4th place and although he’d been pushed back to 7th by lap 4, the race was soon stopped due to rain on parts of the circuit. A 10-lap re-start subsequently followed with the race starting wet and another good start by Chris meant that he was up to 6th by the end of the first lap. Alastair Seeley and James Ellison pushed him back to 8th a lap later and here he remained for the next 7 laps. By now, the rain had stopped and the circuit was drying out rapidly with many of the riders, including Chris, struggling as the wet tyres rapidly lost grip. However, despite sliding around considerably at each corner, Chris hung on and although Simon Andrews managed to find a way through, he was still able to take a fine 9th.

With the ninth fastest lap of the opening race, Chris started Race 2, which was cut to ten laps, in 9th on the grid but his race was immediately compromised when Frenchman Loris Baz crashed and his handlebars got caught up with Chris and his Honda, dropping him down the order. Completing the first lap in 15th place, Chris then put in a superb ride in the wet conditions to fight his way through the pack. By lap 3, he’d made it up to 12th and then a stunning fourth lap saw him jump up into the top ten and 9th place. A lap later, he overtook Yukio Kagayama for 8th and although he was unable to climb any higher, the eighth place was an excellent result given the problems on the first lap.

Speaking later, team owner Robin Croft said: “It’s been a good weekend for us and Chris immediately liked the track with the bike being well suited to it and we’re very pleased to come away with two top ten finishes. Free practice went very well even though it was again a mixture of wet and dry conditions and we deservedly made it through to the final stage of the qualifying session for the second time this season. In race 1, Chris made a great start before the race was red flagged and we simply ran out of time to get the correct settings on the bike for the re-start and, like most other riders, his rear tyre was in pieces after just a couple of laps.”

“He battled his way to a ninth place finish and we were hopeful of improving in race 2. However, when Baz crashed, his handlebars got hooked up with Chris and he was way back at the end of the first lap. But, in typical Chris Walker fashion, he dug deep and showed tremendous grit, determination and skill to fight his way through the pack and to finish 8th was an excellent result. We’ve maintained our tenth place in the Championship and edged away from some of the guys behind so we’re really looking forward to the final round at Oulton. The bike works really well around there and it’s a circuit Chris really enjoys so we’re extremely hopeful of a strong end to the year.”

The final round of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Oulton Park, Cheshire on October 7-9.

— CAME Yamaha

The CAME Yamaha team returned to the podium at the penultimate round of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship at Silverstone as James Westmoreland secured an impressive second place in the difficult wet conditions.

The race was restarted after a multi-rider crash on the opening lap but Westmoreland fought for second place despite coming under increasing pressure from Ben Wilson in the closing stages. Billy McConnell finished the race eleventh after a challenging race where he struggled with the wet setting after missing the wet practice session on Friday following a crash in the opening session.

Westmoreland said: “Of all the races this season that actually was one of the best and I really enjoyed it. We were confident in the dry conditions and I thought we could fight for the win. The race was then wet and the team worked really hard with the setting and we took a gamble which paid off, so I have to thank them for that. The CAME Yamaha felt unbelievable and I knew from the first lap it was going to be a good race for us. I have always struggled in wet races before in my career but yesterday was definitely a turning point and I was feeling really confident and had a good fight in the race. The pressure if off for Oulton Park now and everyone will be wanting that last win of the season; I will definitely be pushing all the way for it.”

McConnell said: “It was another tough weekend for me and the race turned into a bit of a nightmare as we had to guess the settings after we lost the wet practice session on Friday. I crashed out in the first session and there was a lot of damage to the CAME Yamaha and the team worked hard to repair it but it was never going to be ready in time for the second session. I struggled in the race with the front end of the bike and I just wanted to bring it home in the points. I have had a string of disappointing results but I am going to Oulton Park wanting to end the season on a high.”

—  John McGuinness Report

TBC

—  Jason O’Halloran Report

Jason O Halloran had an outstanding ride and gained his first podium of the season on the East Coast Racing Yamaha at the penultimate round of the British Supersport Champion at Silverstone. In the extremely wet conditions Jason finally earned himself a fantastic third place after gaining a great start from 10th place on the grid. He has also managed to promote himself to seventh in the overall Championship standings.

The weather conditions were changeable all weekend and Jason was strong in the wet on Friday morning setting a time that put him eighth fastest. Although the weather dried up for Saturday’s qualifying sessions the track temperature was extremely cold. Jason struggled to put in a fast time during qualifying and could only manage to gain tenth on the grid after the second qualifying session. After a number of overnight changes that the team made to his bike, Jason was fifth fastest in morning warm up and was looking for a good result in the race.

The initial race was re-started after a big crash on the first corner which involved his team-mate Pat McDougall. On the re-start, the race was cut to eight laps and Jason got an awesome start and was soon settled into fourth place and was keeping a close eye on the leaders. The wet conditions were horrendous but this did not stop the young Australian putting in some incredibly fast lap times and reeling in the leaders. He was soon sat on the back of a two man battle between Ben Wilson and James Westmoreland for second place. The pairing were making passes on each other every lap and Jason was watching every move closely, until Wilson lost the front and crashed out on lap seven, allowing Jason to take the final step of the podium.

A delighted Jason said “Finally the podium I’ve been looking for all season. It’s been a hard weekend with a few ups and downs but the end result was ideal! I’m just chuffed to bits for all the team and myself, but the team have worked so hard since I joined them mid season at Mallory Park and we’ve been working for this ever since. The weather conditions certainly weren’t ideal but hopefully things will carry on like this for Oulton and I can get myself another good result there. I just like to thank everyone involved who have supported me this year and I couldn’t have done it without them!”

It was a nightmare weekend for his team-mate Pat McDougall who was unfortunately involved in a first lap crash after hitting a fallen bike. He said “It’s just been a total nightmare this weekend; I was still injured from my big crash at Croft but was quite looking forward to riding in the wet conditions as it would have slowed the pace down a little. A got a great start but because of the spray into the first corner I was unable to see the bike that was laying in the track, I hit it hard and have hurt my foot but it’s just been a nightmare, I’m gutted.”

Team Manager Phil Reed said “I’m over the moon for Jason this weekend it’s just mega. We’ve worked really hard all year and nice to get this back as a reward and now we’re really looking forward to getting to Oulton and ending the season on a high. We’re gutted for Pat crashing out, once again it wasn’t his fault and hope he’ll be fit enough to race at Oulton in a couple of weeks time.”

—  GNS Racing Report

Sam Lowes Wins British Supersport Championship

GNS Racing Honda rider Sam Lowes clinched the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship title in fantastic style with a superb start to finish victory at a rain-hit Silverstone today. The 20 year old from Lincoln only needed a sixth place finish to claim the title following a dominant season and after qualifying on pole for the third successive race for Gary Stubbington’s Southampton-based team, he was confident of a good result. However, just before the start of the race, the rain arrived and following a crash on the opening lap involving a number of riders, the original start was aborted.

Undeterred by the conditions, Lowes then rode a faultless race to take the win in the eight lap re-run by over 2.5 seconds to claim his fifth win of the series and with it, the prestigious British Supersport Championship with a round to spare as the team and Lowes celebrated in fine fashion despite the damp conditions.

Lowes will be hoping to add to his victory tally when the final round of the series takes place at Oulton Park in two weeks time whereby Sam’s incentive if he wins will be that he will have won 50% of the races in a memorable season.

Joining Lowes in the GNS Team this weekend was former multiple British Supermoto Champion Christian Iddon who gave a good account of himself and qualified in 12th place. Iddon, who had raced in British Superbikes earlier in the season and also contested the World Supersport Championship round at Silverstone as a wild card, battled against the conditions but any hopes of a result ended when he failed to bring the Honda CBR600 home after a misted visor thwarted his bid.

Sam Lowes: “It’s just unbelievable. It’s just a mega, mega feeling for me and I was in tears going across the line. I think I’m lost for words for the first time ever and days like this are the reason that you race bikes. To win the race for the third time in a row and from pole position for the third time in a row, it’s just unreal. I want to say a massive, massive thank you to the team and all the sponsors – we are ONIT! We can now go to Oulton Park with no pressure for the last round and just enjoy it. It’s been a perfect weekend and I hope we can do the same at Oulton.”

Christian Iddon: “It’s been fantastic working with the team this weekend, they’ve been superbly professional. They’ve helped me to feel comfortable on the bike and they’ve welcomed me into the team. All credit to them, especially with the job they’ve had to do this weekend with winning the championship. The bike has been spot on but I got caught a bit unawares in the wet and had a big slide on the first lap. I took it steady in the re-run and then started pulling a few people in but then the visor steamed up and I had to pull in. I’m really pleased for the team today.”

Gary Stubbington, Team Owner: “What a year! It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with all these guys. It’s down to the whole team and each of our sponsors who have put every bit of effort in to getting Sam where he is now. We’ve taken each race bit by bit and improved our results throughout the season. It’s been a huge team effort and our goal now is to continue our hard work on into the British Superbike Championship next season if we can. Sam had a brilliant ride and he rode like a true professional. We can now relax for the last race of the season at Oulton and hopefully we can do the same again. I’m absolutely over the moon, everyone involved deserves this Championship win.”

—  Conor Cummins Report

TBC